I wouldn't normally comment about something I saw in an advertisement in this magazine, but the PlaneSense ad on page 65 in our 2010 Buyers' Guide hit too close to home to let pass without relating a recent tale of airline-travel-induced woe.

Even though I'm a pilot, I still love loading up the car and hitting the highway for a far-off vacation destination. Some of my most relaxing moments have been behind the wheel, with Woody Guthrie's "ribbon of highway" stretched out ahead of the hood ornament.

Planning to fly to Wisconsin's Sheboygan County Airport for this year's PGA Championship at the Whistling Straits links course August 12 to 15? The good news is that Kohler, the plumbing firm, and some other local companies of note base their jets there, so the airport has more amenities than your typical small-town landing strip.

Pianist and composer Herbie Hancock-who ranks among the most influential jazz musicians of the last hundred years-is a bouncy and jovial free spirit. At age 70, he seems as excited about his new Apple iPad as he is about his latest album, The Imagine Project (which is also available as a video).

After bottoming out last year, business aviation appears ready to start growing again as the economic climate improves. The next five years should be interesting, and BJT asked industry experts to comment on what the field will look like by 2015. For the most part, they painted an appealing portrait. Here are some predictions:

When he introduces himself in a hangar at TWC Aviation in Van Nuys, Calif., film and television director and producer McG is so friendly and engaging that you can't help wishing he were a neighbor who might come over for the occasional beer or Monday Night Football get-together.

You've analyzed numerous variables, including where, when and how often you fly. You've determined that a fractional share makes sense for you and figured out which aircraft model best suits your needs. You've even picked a fractional provider. Time to call the company, sign the paperwork and break out the margaritas?

Wall Streeters and other experts have been making a variety of persuasive but conflicting predictions about where the economy is headed. Will a recovery be shaped like a V? Or a U? Or perhaps a W? One expert even suggested an L-shaped condition, in which a nosedive would be followed by an indefinite period where we skid sideways along the bottom.

Pages

Quote/Unquote

““CEOs go to their vacation homes just after companies report favorable news, and CEOs return to headquarters right before subsequent news is released. More good news is released when CEOs are back at work, and CEOs appear not to leave headquarters at all if a firm has adverse news to disclose. When CEOs are away from the office, stock prices behave quietly with sharply lower volatility. Volatility increases immediately when CEOs return to work.”
—David Yermack, a New York University finance professor, whose recently released study shows a correlation between when CEOs take their private jets on vacation and movements in their companies’ stock price
”